Collin Barber

Ashes to Ashes

Over the past ten years, the shape of my body has altered the shape of the hammock I lie in this afternoon. I too, am not the same as I was on the day that I bought it. My body and my mind have changed to such a degree it's as if I've become a different animal. I can feel the rope sinking into the flesh of my bare back as I stare into the sky.

spring cleaning
how much of this dust
is me?

Clouds navigate the sky as if they are ships sailing in a sea that has no shore. They seem to be so free, but I know that they aren't. After numerous hours of watching their every move, I realize that they have no place to go. They will never be able to stray from the path they are destined to travel.

while we talk
about God and the universe
another rock
from my slingshot
misses the moon

As a ladybug explores my arm, the same old timeless questions arise. Why are we here? Where are we going? Am I just another ever-changing cloud on a journey that has no destination? I begin to think that the only things truly free in my life are the thoughts twisting my mind.

country heat
a dust devil rises
from the churchyard